Politics Election category, Page 124
World FSHD Day resolution introduced on Capitol Hill
After years of advocating for a cure for the rare disease that has limited his mobility, Mark Christman has made his way to Capitol Hill. Christman, a retired attorney and board member of Trib Total Media, was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, in 1977 at age 16. One...
Pa. Senate committee advances bill to expand DNA collection by law enforcement
A bill moving in the Pennsylvania Senate would allow the state to collect and archive DNA samples from people when they are arrested, even if they are never convicted of a crime — a proposal that has generated pushback from both ends of the political spectrum. The Senate Judiciary Committee...
Fetterman taunts Menendez with nickname in hallways of Capitol
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman reportedly taunts New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez with the nickname “Gold Bar Bob” whenever the two senators cross paths in Washington, D.C. He’ll presumably continue to do so if Menendez doesn’t step down amid his ongoing legal troubles. Menendez was hit with corruption charges in September...
Bill to ensure access to contraception advances in Pennsylvania, aided by dozens of GOP House votes
HARRISBURG — A proposal to ensure access to contraceptives cleared the Democratic majority Pennsylvania House on Tuesday, drawing dozens of Republican votes but facing an uncertain future in the GOP-controlled state Senate. The bill was approved 133-69, with 14 women among the 32 Republicans voting yes. A spokeswoman for the...
Pennsylvania man charged with threatening state Sen. Mastriano
Federal agents arrested a Central Pennsylvania man on charges of threatening to kill state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Franklin Republican, in a series of violent posts to Facebook earlier this month, authorities said Tuesday. Among the threatening messages from Richard Little was a post Friday in which he tagged the...
Jill Biden to Philadelphia donors: ‘Let’s talk about age’
PHILADELPHIA — First lady Jill Biden told a room of Philadelphia donors she knew what they were thinking. “I know what’s on your mind, so let’s talk about age this election,” Biden said to about 100 guests at a private fundraiser in Chestnut Hill on Monday night. “This election’s not...
Laugh (or cringe) at these history-making moments from presidential debates
WASHINGTON — It could be a well-rehearsed zinger or an offhand, too-loud sigh. Notable moments from past presidential debates demonstrate how the candidates’ words and body language can make them look especially relatable or hopelessly out-of-touch. They also can showcase candidates at the top of their policy game or suggest...
Former Georgia officials say they’re teaming up to defend the legitimacy of elections
ATLANTA — Four prominent former officials in Georgia, which has been a major front in disinformation over the democratic process, are joining a group that says it will try to counteract efforts to make people distrust elections. Those joining the Democracy Defense Project, whose launch was announced Tuesday, include two...
House ethics panel reviews 2 GOP lawmakers’ campaign payments to private social clubs
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee said Monday it was reviewing separate accusations against two Republican congressmen from Texas that allege they violated ethics rules by using campaign funds to pay membership dues at private social clubs. The bipartisan panel released findings that Rep. Ronny Jackson’s campaign committee had paid...
Bill allows for stuffed toys made and/or sold in Pennsylvania to be more eco-friendly
Teddy bears and other stuffed animals sold in Pennsylvania may soon go green. The state House of Representatives on Monday voted 154-48 to send a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro for enactment that would end a 63-year-old prohibition on the distribution and sale of stuffed toys made with recycled materials...
After a ‘rough’ start, Sen. John Fetterman opens up about his mental health journey
ASPEN, Colo. — It wasn’t the 2022 election that nearly killed Sen. John Fetterman. By his own account, it was the aftermath. The Pennsylvania Democrat has been candid about his personal experience with depression and self-harm, shining a spotlight on what can still be a taboo subject for many Americans....
Is Trump shielded from criminal charges as an ex-president? A nation awaits word from Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — In the coming days, the Supreme Court will confront a perfect storm mostly of its own making: a trio of decisions stemming directly from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Within days of each other, if not hours, the justices are expected to rule on...
Can Biden perform and can Trump be boring? Key questions ahead of high-stakes presidential debate
NEW YORK — Rarely, if ever, has one candidate in a presidential debate had so much material to use against the other. Republican Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felony counts with serious charges in three other indictments still pending. As president, Trump nominated three of the justices who...
Conservative-backed group is creating a list of federal workers it suspects could resist Trump plans
WASHINGTON — From his home office in small-town Kentucky, a seasoned political operative is quietly investigating scores of federal employees suspected of being hostile to the policies of Republican Donald Trump, an effort that dovetails with broader conservative preparations for a new White House. Tom Jones and his American Accountability...
Here’s a look at Trump’s VP shortlist and why each contender may get picked or fall short
NEW YORK — Donald Trump has narrowed his vice presidential shortlist to a handful of contenders as he prepares to announce his pick in the days before — or perhaps even at — next month’s Republican National Convention. He told reporters Saturday that he already has made his decision and...
Attacker of Nancy Pelosi’s husband also found guilty of kidnapping and could face more prison time
SAN FRANCISCO — A man who bludgeoned Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer and was sentenced to 30 years in federal court was also convicted Friday of aggravated kidnapping by a state court which could put him behind bars for life. A federal judge last month sentenced David DePape to...
Long a Republican state, Louisiana is redder than ever under new governor
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has long been reliably red. The Bayou State has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000, with residents overwhelmingly supporting Donald Trump during the past two, and the GOP has held a majority in the statehouse for years. But policies in...
How Biden and Trump are taking very different approaches to preparing for next week’s debate
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes...
Trump dwarfs Biden in latest fundraising numbers: Billionaire Timothy Mellon donates $50 million to pro-Trump group
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s campaign outraised President Joe Biden by more than $60 million last month, according to federal filings that detailed the Republican fundraising explosion sparked by Trump’s felony convictions. Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in May and reported $212...
New Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments churns old political conflicts
NEW ORLEANS — A bill signed into law this week makes Louisiana the only state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges — and stirs the long-running debate over the role of religion in government institutions. Under the new law, all...
RFK Jr.’s campaign files petitions to get on presidential ballot in swing-state Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork Thursday to get on the ballot for the November election in swing-state Pennsylvania, the state’s election office said. Kennedy’s filing comes six weeks before the Aug. 1 deadline, after which the paperwork can be challenged in court. The campaigns...
Pennsylvania court will decide whether skill game terminals are gambling machines
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court will decide whether the cash-paying electronic game terminals that have become commonplace in convenience stores, bars and elsewhere are unlicensed gambling machines and, as a result, must be shut down. The state Supreme Court said this week that it will consider an appeal by the...
TikTok accuses federal agency of ‘political demagoguery’ in legal challenge against potential U.S. ban
TikTok disclosed a letter Thursday that accused the Biden administration of engaging in “political demagoguery” during high-stakes negotiations between the government and the company as it sought to relieve concerns about its presence in the United States. The letter — sent to David Newman, a top official in the Justice...
Jill Biden returning to Pittsburgh to campaign for abortion rights
First lady Jill Biden is returning to Pittsburgh on Sunday in an effort to remind voters that the Biden administration is seeking to protect their abortion rights. Biden will visit Pittsburgh on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down Roe v. Wade,...
The fight for abortion rights gets an unlikely messenger in swing state Pennsylvania: Sen. Bob Casey
HARRISBURG — Abortion rights, suddenly a potent political force in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to leave such matters to the states, have found an unlikely champion in swing state Pennsylvania. Sen. Bob Casey, who will appear on the November ballot beneath President Joe Biden as the...
